I'm really sceptical of this new group that have come in and splashed the cash. They've now released an "exciting new initiative" which allows fans to subscribe to the club with monthly donations ffs https://wiganathletic.com/news/2021/august/-BELIEVE-FansFund-Launched-/
The alarm bells must be deafening for Wigan fans. I bet Donald's kicking himself for not thinking of it.
they're not - thats the problem. They're all loving it as it brings them closer to their club. Like us fitting the seats did... Like our "club membership" did...
if don and meth had come up with this my first thought would be they have not got the finances to run the club. the fans may well be happy putting in at the minute but i dare say it wont be too long before the questions begin, wanting to know how many members at what rate and where the money has gone etc etc, canny way for the fans to feel involved and have them think they actually are having some kind of say in the running of the club.
I could understand a little bit more if they had not being given silly contracts in the summer and they were relying on young kids to get a team out.
Dangerous road to go down, I think. Give it a couple of seasons and they'll start to count on/rely on the income. They'll then start to add in more incentives to subscribe like first access to cup/away tickets. Being a season ticket holder will no longer be a big enough commitment. Far from bringing them closer together it'll end up driving a wedge between the club and the fans.
Most professional sporting clubs do similar with memberships. Some membership packages come with season tickets and 1st dibs on finals tickets. Others are purely for financial contributions and in return you might get a cap and a members lanyard or similar. It's becoming more common around the world